Did you update your Samsung Galaxy S5 with Lollipop! We updated one of our Galaxy S5. Well, we also keep a backup version that is yet running the Touch Wiz version of Android 4.4.4 Kit Kat on board. We could barely wait to put them toe-to-toe and find out what’s changed and what’s similar. That’s right and it’s time for a Lollipop vs KitKat UI comparison!

Usually speaking, apart from the OS version, the availability of Touch Wiz is leading. While Lollipop is almost a full overhaul over Kit Kat, Samsung has merely borrowed some bits of Google’s latest OS. Apart from the improved notification drawer, overhauled Recent Apps switcher, and the Settings menu, we generally not succeed to notice any other clear difference. The bigger differences are the under-the-hood ones (mainly the default ART runtime, Project Volta, etc.), as Samsung has usually retained the old design language with just a few additions here or there.

We should also notice that Lollipop running on the S5 felt a tad, much snappier and less exposed to lag. While Kit Kat showed some hiccups here or there, its software successor amazed with its steady performance. Yes, we were hoping the new firmware to much better, and, boy, it didn’t disappoint! Without any more ado, let’s find the visual modification right below!

Notification drawer

Samsung has got a lot from Lollipop as far the information drawer is concerned. Your notifications are then listed as cards. The brightness slider has been linked with the toggles at the top, which then consolidates the looks of the drawer. Speaking of the toggles section, it now comes printed in a brighter and much vivid shade of blue. This might appeal to some people, but we imagine that it’s less “contrast” than the darker shade that is omnipresent across the Kit Kat version of Galaxy S5’s firmware. Also, notice that the drawer by itself no longer sports a handle at the bottom, which further eases the looks. As a whole, the drawer now seems a little bit cleaner than before, and while it’s at rest a bit overwhelming with buttons and information, it’s a clear improvement over the Kit Kat counterpart.

Dialer, Messaging and Contacts

The white colored background, that is extensively used in most applications in 5.0 Android Lollipop, is bête noire of AMOLED display, but Samsung has chosen that it should be used in the Lollipop design. That’s why many of its system applications now come with this background instead of the darker one. A slew of default applications, namely the Dialer, Messaging, and Contacts have been used with a Lollipop-y white background.

Settings

Although the display has retained more or less the same, the Settings application has also got a white background. Also, Apart from this entirely visual modification, the philosophy at the back Samsung’s tabbed interface has kept mostly the same. A pretty good, yet somewhat unknown addition is the improved Running Application tab in the Application Manager, which now gives you with a more improved breakdown of the RAM, providing you a generally better concept of what apps take up the most of operational memory.

Battery consumption

The advanced battery information menu, that is available along with Lollipop, has landed on the Touch Wiz version of the OS. Galaxy S5 customers will now know how much time it will take to fully charge the device. When unplugged, on contrast, it will show you an approximation of what battery life you’d be capable

Current Apps and active applications

Here it is the overhauled new Applications menu that made a debut with Android Lollipop has been completely adopted by Samsung among its latest firmware for the flagship. The card-based carousel not only demonstrates you all of your new apps, but also all of the browser tabs, broken down to several swipablecards. Yes, it gets populated quicker than its Kit Kat opponent, which illustrates separate apps only. Samsung has, fortunately, not forgotten to provide a “Close all” button in the new apps menu of its Lollipop design for the S5, something that is not available in vanilla Android 5.0. You can still find your active apps from there, too.

Calculator and Clock

Both of these applications have also scored a little something somethingwith Lollipop. The ones coming with Lollipop seem cleaner, though both have also got the white background.

Gallery and Video

Prepare yourself and friends for yet another round of applications that have said goodbye to the battery-friendly dark backgrounds and started the trendy white backgrounds. It may be a placebo effect, but the gallery of the Android 5.0 design feels somewhat faster than its Kit Kat counterpart, which is a the most welcome improvement.

Conclusion: Should you wait for the Lollipop update on your Galaxy S5?

Yes. Although it is not a marked advancement over Kit Kat, the new Lollipop firmware of the Galaxy S5 is certainly worthy of your unprecedented concentration. It’s true that visually it’s much similar to the previous Touch Wiz, but the unknown improvements will certainly breathe some new energy in your slightly-old Galaxy S5 and make it feel snappier. We are still to test the recent firmware more broadly, but the first look at the recent firmware of the famous Galaxy S5 is surely more than positive.